The former EastEnders star and his son George are pedalling along the country’s most scenic cycle routes in Britain By Bike, which returns to Channel 5 on Friday 10th August
When Larry Lamb and son George took to the open road for the first series of Britain By Bike, they weren’t sure if anyone would be interested in a show that was essentially a glorified family bicycle ride.
But after proving a hit with viewers, the pair are back in the saddle for a new six-part series that will take the former EastEnders star and his TV presenter son to all four corners of the country.
Over the next few weeks, Larry and George will be exploring Britain’s most spectacular bike routes, visiting some fascinating places and getting to know the locals along the way.
Here former EastEnders star Larry Lamb and his son George talk about the return of Britain by Bike. And how Larry's gutted he didn't see a ghost!
WOTV: You must have been delighted with the reception last year’s series received…
Larry Lamb: "Very pleased, because there’s always this sense of the unknown when you do something like this. But lots of people contacted us on social media to say they enjoyed it and were inspired to visit some of the places we cycled to, which was nice."
George Lamb: "One guy came up to us with his baby son and told us that in a few years he couldn’t wait to do what we were doing as a father and son, which was very sweet."
WOTV: Where are you going this year?
George: "We start off in Northumberland and then head to the Peak District, Snowdonia, Northern Ireland and the Outer Hebrides. We also went to the Isles of Scily, which is a place we’ve both wanted to go for some time so this seemed like the perfect opportunity."
Larry: "We visited some really interesting places as well. In the first episode I fulfilled a lifelong ambition of mine, which was to visit a kipper smokehouse. We also visited Chillingham Castle, which is supposed to be haunted and judged the Waggiest Tail competition at the Bedlington Terrier Convention."
George: "That was a real honour and it was a very difficult decision in the end actually!"
WOTV: Did you see any ghosts at Chillingham Castle?
Larry: "No we didn’t, which is a shame because I’ve never seen a ghost and would love to see one. George wasn’t so keen and I think he’d have been pedalling pretty quickly back down the road if a ghost had popped out!"
WOTV: Have you always enjoyed cycling together?
Larry: "When George was a boy, I had a little seat for him that was fixed to the crossbar of my bicycle. He would sit there with his little feet up in between my arms. Then, as he got older, he had a seat on the back and we’d literally cycle all over London."
George: "Those were happy times, but before the last year’s series we hadn’t been out together since I was a kid. Now to do it again is a joy, especially when you’re out in the countryside and you can just pootle along slowly and have a natter. It’s the best way to enjoy the British countryside, because you can stop off where you like and meet some extraordinary people. Even when it was belting down with rain we had a laugh."
WOTV: You’ll be visiting some very hilly regions, which sounds like a lot of hard work if you’re cycling!
George: "It will be hard work for me! Dad has an electric bike so he’s fine. I was tempted to get one as well, but as I’m not yet 40 I think it might have been a bit embarrassing."
Larry: "When we get to a hill, George is slogging away and I’m laughing all the way to the top. It was great fun!"
WOTV: Would you like to come back for another series?
George: "As long as there are people watching, we’ll be out on our bikes. There’s plenty more of Britain to cover and once we’ve done that we’ll head off to American or Australia or somewhere. We could do another 20 series."
Larry: "I’m not sure I’ll be able to do another 20 series, but you can borrow my electric bike if you like."
Main pic: PA Archive/PA Images
